Department for Transport

Airports: Coronavirus

Charlotte Nichols: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make it his policy to introduce rapid covid-19 testing at all UK airports.

Robert Courts: As of 15 December, international arrivals to England can opt in to Test to Release for International Travel, allowing them to shorten self-isolation by up to 5 days after receiving a negative test result. Any decisions on whether and how we can further ease border requirements, including whether rapid Covid-19 testing could be introduced at UK airports, will be made on the basis of clinical and scientific evidence.

Pedestrians: Wakefield

Imran Ahmad Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to increase the number of journeys undertaken by foot in Wakefield constituency.

Chris Heaton-Harris: On the 9th May the Government announced a £2bn package of funding for cycling and walking. This included a £225 million Active Travel Fund from which West Yorkshire Combined Authority has been allocated around £12,500,000 this financial year. The Department has also funded the development of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan which includes plans for a Core Walking Zone in Wakefield city centre. Decisions on the allocation of the rest of the £2 billion will be made during the life of this Parliament. Much of this funding will be provided to local authorities to deliver local cycling and walking plans.

Ports: Renewable Energy

Bob Blackman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions he has held with representatives of UK ports about upgrading their green infrastructure.

Robert Courts: The Department has regular meetings with ports and their trade representatives on a range of issues including green infrastructure at ports. Most recently, I met with board members of the UK Major Ports Group on the 19th of November. The discussion included decarbonisation and green infrastructure. UK ports and the UK domestic maritime sector that rely on our ports, are covered by the Net Zero 2050 target and our national carbon budgets under the Climate Change Act.

Shipping: Exhaust Emissions

Bob Blackman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions he has held with representatives of the maritime industry about that industry's role in contributing towards the UK's Net Zero targets.

Robert Courts: Officials and I regularly engage the maritime industry on all matters that concern them, including reducing the sector’s emissions, as decarbonising shipping is essential to achieve the target of net zero greenhouse gases across the economy by 2050.We continue to work with the maritime industry as part of the Clean Maritime Council to implement the Clean Maritime Plan, which outlines the UK’s pathway to zero carbon emissions in domestic maritime. The Council recently discussed the Prime Minister’s announcement of a £20m Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition to develop clean maritime technology.Further plans on the decarbonisation of the maritime sector will be included in the Transport Decarbonisation Plan, to be published in the spring next year.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Redundancy

Siobhain McDonagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 13 October 2020 to Question 98870, how many proposed redundancies were indicated on HR1 forms received by the Redundancy Payments Service in (a) October and (b) November 2020.

Paul Scully: The table below sets out the number of HR 1 forms received in October and November 2020, and the number of proposed dismissals indicated on those forms:MonthNumber of HR1 forms receivedNumber of proposed dismissals on HR1sOct 2084451,351Nov 2055236,686Employers are only required to file a Form HR1 where they are “proposing” to dismiss 20 or more employees at a single “establishment”.“Propose” and “establishment” have distinct meanings in this context.The aggregate number could include proposed dismissals due to insolvency, restructuring of a solvent/continuing business, or proposed relocation of employees, for example.It should be noted that a proposal to make a given number of dismissals does not necessarily result in all or any of the proposed dismissals occurring.

Buildings: Ventilation

Sir Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if his Department will make a comparative assessment of the ventilation standards in buildings in the UK and (a) the United States, (b) Vietnam and (c) South Korea in the context of the covid-19 pandemic.

Paul Scully: The Department has no plans to make a comparative assessment of the ventilation standards in buildings in the UK and other countries.

Britishvolt: Blyth

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department plans to provide financial support to the planned new Britishvolt factory in Blyth.

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he has had discussions with representatives of Britishvolt on its planned factory in Blyth.

Nadhim Zahawi: I welcome Britishvolt’s announcement. As my Rt hon Friend the Prime Minister set out recently in his 10 Point Plan, manufacturing electric vehicles and developing the required supply chain right here in the UK is a key part of building back better and greener. A Gigafactory will support industry, provide high quality jobs and help the automotive sector transform over the coming decade - as we make strides towards our world-beating net zero goals. The Government has announced nearly £500m of support through the Automotive Transformation Fund to drive the electrification of the UK automotive sector. This is part of the up to £1 billion that this government previously committed to these efforts. The application process is managed by the Advanced Propulsion Centre on behalf of BEIS and funding will be allocated on a competitive basis, dependent on a full assessment of the relative value for money of any request received.

Ports: Renewable Energy

Bob Blackman: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what support his Department is providing to UK ports to deploy the green infrastructure necessary for increasing the UK's offshore wind capacity.

Kwasi Kwarteng: The expected rapid deployment of offshore wind across the UK, Europe and globally over the next decade, together with the increasing size of turbines, means that there is a need for a major expansion in manufacturing capacity in the coming years. My rt hon Friend the Prime Minister recently announced £160 million of new funding for coastal manufacturing infrastructure. The ‘Offshore wind manufacturing investment support scheme’ aims to accelerate the development of large-scale manufacturing portside hubs, which could strengthen the UK’s offshore wind manufacturing capability, creating employment and investment in both coastal communities and the wider supply chain. Following a Request for Information in October, earlier this month my Department launched a competitive process to support a large coastal manufacturing site for the offshore wind industry. This would create manufacturing clusters where several large-scale producers can co-locate.

Life Sciences: Innovation

Lee Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to promote the UK as a destination for life sciences innovation, in the context of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) becoming the first regulator to approve the mRNA vaccine for covid-19 on 2 December 2020.

Nadhim Zahawi: The flexibility and pragmatism of the MHRA has been instrumental to our COVID response, including enabling us to approve the COVID-19 vaccine before any other country. The MHRA will continue to pioneer innovative regulatory approaches to the most ground-breaking treatments, from the latest AI-enabled technologies to the best new precision therapies, benefiting both patients and the sector.

Department of Health and Social Care

Health Services: West Sussex

Andrew Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to improve rural communities' access to healthcare in West Sussex.

Jo Churchill: The Government recognises the specific challenges that rural areas face and the potential for certain health inequalities to develop. We recognise that across West Sussex there are areas of significant rurality, which present particular healthcare challenges, including physical access to services, access to specialist services, social isolation and loneliness, and distance challenges for staff.The Health and Social Care Act 2012 places a legal duty on clinical commissioning groups to tackle health inequalities. NHS West Sussex is committed to working with its partners, including West Sussex County Council and the district and borough councils across the county, to ensure healthcare is commissioned to address these challenges.

Atrial Fibrillation: Diagnosis

Lee Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what data his Department holds on detection and diagnosis rates for atrial fibrillation in England (a) from January to May 2019 and (b) from January to May 2020 inclusive; and if he will make a statement.

Jo Churchill: The information is not available in the format requested. The Quality Outcomes Framework reports annually for atrial fibrillation and it is not possible to break down into monthly data.A register of patients with atrial fibrillation is used to monitor cumulative recorded prevalence year-on-year. Recorded prevalence of atrial fibrillation increased from 1.98% in 2018/19 to 2.05% in 2019/20. Data for 2020/21 will be published during 2021.

Dental Services: West Yorkshire

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans his Department has to increase the number of NHS dental appointments available in West Yorkshire.

Jo Churchill: National Health Service dental practices are open for face to face care. The Department is working closely with NHS England and NHS Improvement and the Chief Dental Officer for England to increase levels of service, as fast as is safely possible, taking into account Public Health England guidance and continued infection risks.Dental practices are prioritising patients with urgent care needs, irrespective of whether they have been treated previously at the practice. If patients require urgent dental care and cannot get an appointment, they are advised to call NHS 111 who will assist in booking an appointment at one of over 100 designated urgent care centres, which continue to stay open across Yorkshire.

Smoking: Staffordshire

Jonathan Gullis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of recent trends in the smoking cessation rate in (a) Stoke-on-Trent and (b) Staffordshire.

Jo Churchill: The smoking rate for adults in Stoke-on-Trent has seen an overall decline, from 25.2% in 2011 to 18.2% in 2019. The smoking rate for adults in Staffordshire has seen an overall decline, from 18.2% in 2011 to 13.9% in 2019.

Strokes: Health Services

Lee Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people presented in hospital with ischemic stroke in (a) January, (b) February, (c) March and (d) April 2020.

Jo Churchill: The information is not held in the format requested. NHS Digital collects the number of finished admissions episodes which do not represent the number of patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the period.

Coronavirus and Influenza: Vaccination

Dr Kieran Mullan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether latex-free flu vaccines are available; how many have been distributed to (a) GP surgeries and (b) pharmacies in winter 2020; and whether latex-free covid-19 vaccines will be available.

Jo Churchill: Information contained in the patient information leaflets for flu vaccines suggests none of the vaccines for the 2020/21 flu vaccination programme include latex as an ingredient in the vaccine.The Pfizer vaccine for COVID-19, which began to be deployed on 8 December has no latex within the vaccine product. Its packaging is also free of latex. The vaccine comes in a clear vial (type I glass) with a synthetic rubber (bromobutyl) stopper and a flip-off plastic cap with aluminium seal. Information about the product specifications of future vaccines, should others be deployed, will be available on the Medicines Healthcare products and Regulatory Authority website.

Vaccination

Holly Mumby-Croft: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the proportion of the population who will need to undertake vaccination to ensure a positive effect on people who cannot undertake one for medical reasons.

Jo Churchill: The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation has stated that in order to interrupt transmission of COVID-19, modelling indicates that we would need to vaccinate a large proportion of the population with a vaccine which is highly effective at preventing infection. Currently it is not known whether any of the vaccines licensed or in development can prevent transmission.

Coronavirus: Disease Control

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of issuing Government guidance that clinically vulnerable people should work from home until they have received a covid-19 vaccination.

Jo Churchill: The four-week period of national restrictions ended on 2 December and the tiering system has now been reintroduced.Clinically vulnerable people are advised to work from home if possible. If this is not possible, they can go to work, but their employer must ensure that the workplace is Covid-secure.We have no plans to issue guidance advising clinically vulnerable people to work from home until they have received a covid-19 vaccination.

Innovation

Lee Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether consultations of stakeholders conducted by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) may address policy and affordability issues, in the context of NICE's duty to promote innovation.

Jo Churchill: Section 233 of the Health and Social Care Act 2012 provides that the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) must have regard to the broad balance between benefits and costs and the desirability of promoting innovation. NICE is an independent organisation and is responsible for its consultation processes.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Sarah Owen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what preparations the Government is making with GPs for the distribution of a covid-19 vaccine.

Jo Churchill: The BMA General Practitioners Committee in England agreed with NHS England and NHS Improvement the general practice COVID-19 vaccination service, which was commissioned in line with agreed national terms and conditions as an Enhanced Service. GP Practices working within Primary Care Network groupings were invited to nominate by Tuesday 18 November a site to be designated and approved for administering COVID-19 vaccinations. The ES specification was published on 1 December. Practices were asked to opt into the ES by the end of the 7 December. NHSE&I wrote to practices on 4 December, giving 10 days’ notice to prepare Primary Care Network groupings who had opted into vaccine delivery to be ready to roll out the vaccines from the week commencing 14 December, under the new Enhanced Service. Practices in more than a hundred parts of England took delivery of the COVID-19 vaccine on 14 December, with hundreds of other sites starting to vaccinate patients in December. The sites are located in every region of England and will each deliver 975 doses of the vaccine to patients in their first week of vaccinating. Patients will be invited to return three weeks later for their second dose.

Mental Health Services: Telemedicine

Sir Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that mental health providers are able to offer online consultations to patients who need them.

Ms Nadine Dorries: Talking therapies delivered by Improving Access to Psychological Therapies services will continue to be made available remotely so people can access help safely from home with face-to-face support provided to people, where appropriate, from within COVID-19 secure settings. Children and young people’s community mental health services will also continue to offer digital and remote access to maintain support and accept new referrals over the winter.

Mental Health Services

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that anti-stigma work on mental health will continue after the closure of Time to Change programme; and if he will make a statement.

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make it his policy to (a) increase the importance of anti-stigma and anti-discrimination in mental health planning and (b) take steps to ensure that (i) people from BAME communities, (ii) people experiencing less well known or understood mental health problems and (iii) other groups severely affected by mental health stigma benefit from national mental health anti-stigma programmes; and if he will make a statement.

Ms Nadine Dorries: The Government is committed to addressing mental health inequalities, stigma and discrimination. Every Department, as well as major corporations, have made a Time to Change Pledge to continue challenging mental health stigma and the inequalities experienced by people with mental illness.   The NHS Long Term Plan committed to a more concerted and systematic approach to reducing health inequalities and addressing unwarranted variation in care, including for people from black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) backgrounds who are known to access mental health care less than people from white backgrounds and are more likely to have mental health problems. This is supported by the investment of an additional £2.3 billion a year by 2023/24 to transform and expand mental health services for all sections of the population. Our Mental Health Act Reform White Paper will set out our proposals to improve the dignity and choices for people with mental illness, including for people from BAME communities.

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

Housing: Insulation

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent discussions he has had with mortgage providers on  automatic movement onto variable rate terms for people who are unable to remortgage due to outstanding fire safety issues, with regard to the affordability of those variable rate terms.

Christopher Pincher: The lending industry has assured the Minister for Building Safety that their existing customers in multi-occupancy and multi-storey buildings with fire safety issues should be able to access a product transfer without penalty. Individual lenders will make a commercial decision where a leaseholder is looking to re-mortgage.

Rented Housing: Coronavirus

Charlotte Nichols: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what plans he has to (a) write off tenants' rent arrears and (b) provide financial assistance to help tenants pay rent arrears accrued due to loss of earnings during the covid-19 outbreak.

Christopher Pincher: The Government has put in place an unprecedented financial package which is supporting renters with their housing costs. This includes support for businesses to pay staff salaries through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, which has been extended until March 2021. We have also boosted the welfare system, including increasing Universal Credit and Working Tax Credit by up to £1,040 for the year and increasing Local Housing Allowance rates so that they cover the lowest 30 per cent of market rents. For those who require additional support, Discretionary Housing Payments are available. As announced at the spending round for 2020/21 there is £180 million for local authorities to distribute in Discretionary Housing Payments for supporting renters with housing costs in the private and social rented sectors.Under the Coronavirus Act 2020, landlords are required to give tenants 6 months’ notice except in the most serious circumstances such as anti-social behaviour, fraud and arrears of more than 6 months. Housing possession cases were suspended in the courts from 27 March until 20 September. Landlords are able to progress their claims, and the most serious cases are being prioritised by the courts. To further protect tenants, the Government has changed the law to ensure bailiffs do not enforce evictions in England until 11 January 2021, except in the most serious circumstances such as illegal occupation, anti-social behaviour or rent arrears of more than 9 months accrued before 23 March.We will keep these measures under review?and our?decisions?will continue?to be guided by the latest public health advice.

Planning Permission: Coronavirus

Stuart Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has been made of the potential merits of extending all planning permissions for projects which have been halted due to the covid-19 outbreak.

Christopher Pincher: To ensure that unimplemented planning permissions and listed building consents do not lapse unnecessarily due to the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Government has brought forward measures through the Business and Planning Act 2020 to extend planning permissions in England which have lapsed or are at an increased risk of lapsing during this period. Planning permissions that have lapsed or are due to lapse between 23 March and 31 December 2020 will receive an extension to 1 May 2021. This is an important step in supporting the construction industry and sustaining jobs.   The legislation allows for certain dates to be extended by regulations, including the dates for eligible permissions and the extension period. The use of this power is being kept under review.

Housing: Stoke on Trent

Jonathan Gullis: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to promote housebuilding on brownfield land in Stoke-on-Trent.

Christopher Pincher: The National Planning Policy Framework expects local authorities to prioritise brownfield land for development wherever possible. Local authorities are best placed to assess the potential of individual sites, and each authority is required to publish a register of its developable brownfield suitable for new homes. Nationally, we are providing significant practical support for regeneration, including:The £4.5 billion Home Building Fund provides loans for new housing in two ways: the £2 billion long-term fund supports delivery of larger sites, mostly brownfield, through loans for infrastructure and site preparation; the £2.5 billion short-term loan fund (a further £450 million will be made available as announced by the PM in June) supports small and medium enterprises, custom builders and construction innovators to build housing, including some on brownfield.A new £100 million brownfield land release fund for local authorities to support new housing delivery.Our revision of Permitted Development and Use Class rules to encourage brownfield re-use: for instance, allowing (if well designed) two additional storeys on top of purpose-built blocks of flats; new space on top of houses in certain circumstances; and conversion or replacement of commercial and other buildings to create residential development.The Housing Infrastructure Fund, which has allocated nearly £4.1 billion for provision of infrastructure for housing projects, including some on brownfield.Land Remediation Relief, which cuts tax for companies cleaning up contaminated land.The Government has now published its response to the consultation on assessing Local Housing Need and outlined a broader strategy to ensure we build more homes people can afford and to regenerate urban centres. Stoke-on-Trent is among the places where we will increase the indicative Local Housing Need number from the standard method by 35 per cent. We have already provided £10 million of Housing Infrastructure Fund Marginal Viability Funding to transform nine long-vacant brownfield sites in Burslem and Middleport, helping to breathe new life into the city.

High Rise Flats: Insulation

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what proportion of high-rise buildings in (a) Kirklees and (b) England have non-ACM cladding.

Christopher Pincher: Summary information from the External Wall Systems data collection are published in this Building Safety Programme data release: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/building-safety-programme-estimates-of-ews1-requirements-on-residential-buildings-in-england/building-safety-programme-estimates-of-ews1-requirements-on-residential-buildings-in-england. Regional analysis is not available.

Building Safety Fund

Kim Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what plans he has to include the replacement of wooden balconies in the eligibility criteria for the Building Safety Fund.

Christopher Pincher: The Government is focussing public funding on cladding systems because unsafe cladding acts as an accelerant to fire spread and poses an exceptional fire risk at certain heights. Works which are not directly related to the remediation of unsafe non-ACM cladding will not be covered by the Building Safety Fund. Balconies are therefore not included unless they are integral to the cladding. Funding for the removal of unsafe cladding will remove the biggest obstacle to remediation proceeding. Our guidance is clear that building safety is the responsibility of building owners and we have given expert advice on a range of safety issues to provide clarity.

Buildings: Fire Prevention

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what liability exists for surveyors who failed to identify and report building defects that created fire risks in breach of building regulations in force at the time of the surveyor's inspection and which were identified only later.

Christopher Pincher: The forthcoming Building Safety Bill, the draft of which the Government published on 20 July 2020, will introduce far-reaching building safety reforms, including industry-led measures to improve competency across the sector. Through this we will create duty holders that are responsible for a building’s safety throughout its lifecycle with existing in-scope buildings transitioning into this system.Chartered surveyors are regulated by RICS and members are required to have PII which provides a minimum level of indemnity cover for the professional risks they accept in undertaking their work. It is for the appropriate professional standards bodies to regulate the surveying profession. Government is not able to pre-determine what liability individual professionals hold for historic work.

Buildings: Insulation

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many and what proportion of insurance claims made since July 2017 against developers’ insurance for remediation costs relating to fire safety issues have been successful, in cases where defects have been accepted by developers.

Christopher Pincher: This information is not held.

Shared Ownership: Insulation

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what discussions he has had with housing providers who offer shared ownership in buildings where there are outstanding fire safety issues, in relation to the (a) ability of their residents to sell their share, (b) liability of shared owners for remediation payments, (c) ability of shared owners to sub-let and (d) ability of shared owners to buy the remainder of the leasehold.

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what advice his Department is providing to social housing providers that offer shared ownership in buildings where there are outstanding fire safety issues, in relation to liability for remediation costs for (a) the provider and (b) individual shared owners.

Christopher Pincher: The Government has continued to engage with leaseholders and housing providers of all kinds at ministerial and official level, to understand their concerns on a range of issues and discuss various policies.It is unacceptable for leaseholders to have to worry about the cost of fixing historic safety defects in their buildings that they didn’t cause.The Government is determined to remove barriers to fixing historic defects and identify financing solutions that help to protect leaseholders, whilst also helping to protect the taxpayer. The Government has asked Michael Wade to accelerate this work. We will provide an update in due course.

Buildings: Ventilation

Sir Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether his Department plans to update the ventilation standards for buildings in response to the covid-19 outbreak.

Christopher Pincher: SAGE (the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies) have considered evidence on aerosol transmission of SARS-CoV-2. SAGE provides scientific and technical advice to support government decision makers during emergencies. During the coronavirus pandemic, the New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group (NERVTAG) and the Environmental and Modelling Group (EMG) provided advice to SAGE on this matter.A paper on ventilation and Covid-19 has been prepared by SAGE EMG:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/emg-role-of-ventilation-in-controlling-sars-cov-2-transmission-30-september-2020.SAGE EMG and NERVTAG have also published a paper on aerosol transmission which includes comments on ventilation:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nervtagemg-role-of-aerosol-transmission-in-covid-19-22-july-2020.We are planning to consult on changes to the Building Regulations ventilation standards, including a number of measures to enhance the ventilation provision for non-domestic buildings to mitigate the risk of transmission of infectious agents. This work has been informed by discussions with public health and ventilation experts. The Building Regulations apply when a new building is constructed, or when significant work takes place on an existing building.

New Homes Ombudsman

Caroline Nokes: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, by what date the New Homes Ombudsman will be established and taking on cases.

Kelly Tolhurst: The New Homes Ombudsman scheme will enhance consumer protection for new build homebuyers. Published on 20 July 2020, the draft Building Safety Bill includes provision for the New Homes Ombudsman scheme to resolve disputes between developers and consumers. The legislation has finished pre-legislative scrutiny and we are considering the Housing, Communities and Local Government Select Committees’ recommendations. Alongside introducing legislation, we continue to stay in touch with the industry-led New Homes Quality Board to consider the appointment of a voluntary New Homes Ombudsman scheme.

Homelessness: Coronavirus

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the number of people who have become homeless since March 2020 in (a) Slough and (b) England.

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what estimates she has made of the number of people who are living in temporary accommodation in (a) Slough and (b) England.

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the number of children in temporary accommodation in (a) Slough and (b) England.

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent steps he has taken to reduce homelessness in (a) Slough and (b) England.

Kelly Tolhurst: The Government is committed to tackling homelessness, which is why it is spending over £700 million this year alone. This includes the Flexible Homelessness Support Grant of £200m and the £63 million Homelessness Reduction Grant which enable local authorities to do more to prevent and relieve homelessness in their areas. Slough received a total of £820,101 from these specific funding streams. As a result of the Homelessness Reduction Act, councils now have a duty to prevent homelessness and the use of temporary accommodation means people are getting help?and ensures no family is without a roof over their head.Next year, the Government will be spending over £750 million to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping, further demonstrating the Government’s commitment to end rough sleeping and fully enforce the Homelessness Reduction Act.The latest homelessness data for April June 2020, including temporary accommodation numbers and the number of duties owed under the Homelessness Reduction Act can be found on the gov.uk website:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-homelessness.

Leasehold: Reform

Caroline Nokes: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, by what date he plans to bring forward legislative proposals on leasehold reform.

Kelly Tolhurst: The Government is taking forward a comprehensive programme of reform to end unfair practices in the leasehold market. This includes measures to ban the sale of new leasehold houses, restrict ground rents to zero for future leases, give freehold homeowners equivalent rights to challenge unfair charges, and close loopholes to prevent unfair evictions.   We are also working with the Law Commission to make buying a freehold or extending a lease easier, quicker and cheaper – and to reinvigorate commonhold to provide consumers with a choice of tenure and the Right to Manage to help empower those that wish to, to take on management responsibilities for their properties.   This is a long-term reform programme; it is complex with many interdependencies and will take time to get the detail right. Once it is enacted the effect will be felt for generations and so we are determined this work considers all the implications with care. We will bring forward leasehold legislation as soon as parliamentary time allows.

Leasehold

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to (a) cap increases to (i) service charges and (ii) management agent fees payable by owners of leasehold properties and (b) to prevent freeholders of shared ownership properties from using funds from leasehold service charges to pay legal fees for defending action taken by leaseholders; and if he will make a statement.

Kelly Tolhurst: The Government believes very strongly that any fees and charges should be justifiable, transparent and communicated effectively, and that there should be a clear route to challenge or redress if things go wrong.??  The law is clear that service charges, administration and permission fees must be reasonable and, where costs relate to work or services, the work or services must be of a reasonable standard. Leaseholders may make an application to the First-tier Tribunal to make a determination on the reasonableness of their service charges or fees. A summary of leaseholders’ rights and responsibilities must also be provided with the demand for charges.We are also considering under what circumstances administration and permission fees are justified and if they should be capped or banned. We established a working group, chaired by Lord Best, who looked at this alongside the regulation of property agents and reported back to Government last summer. We are currently considering their recommendations.Leaseholders may be liable to pay the legal costs of their landlord regardless of the outcome of a legal challenge - even if they win the case. This depends on the terms set out in their lease. This can lead to leaseholders facing bills that are higher than the charges they were seeking to challenge in the first place. It can also deter leaseholders from taking their concerns to a tribunal.The Government believes leaseholders should not be subject to unjustified legal costs and will close the legal loopholes that allow this to happen. We will bring forward legislation to do this when parliamentary time allows.

Ministry of Justice

Offenders: Females

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies on the implementation of the Female Offender Strategy of the analysis of imprisonment rates for women in 2019 by police service area, published by the Prison Reform Trust on 10 December 2020.

Lucy Frazer: The number of adult women in custody has fallen by 23% in the last ten years (June 2010 to June 2020). However, with the introduction of an additional 20,000 police officers, we expect to see an increase in the prison population, including for women.As set out in our Female Offender Strategy (2018), we know that many women can be better supported in the community on robust and effective community sentences, and we are working to divert women away from custody, where appropriate.We announced in May 2020 that our first residential women’s centre will be located in Wales. This will provide accommodation for vulnerable women with complex needs who would otherwise be sentenced to custody, enabling them to stay closer to home and maintain important family ties. The RWC will provide interventions that directly tackle the issues which often underlie offending, such as substance misuse or poor mental health.The Government’s White Paper, A Smarter Approach to Sentencing (September 2020) sets out our further plans for more effective community sentencing that responds to the underlying drivers of offending. We will support offenders to change their lifestyles for good and protect the public by better identifying individual needs, providing treatment options where appropriate, and utilising technology to drive compliance. Underpinning these measures, will be our ongoing probation reform, to deliver effective, tailored and responsive supervision of offenders in the community.

Remand in Custody

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what is the (a) longest, (b) median, and c) seventy-fifth percentile length of time spent in custody on remand for (i) adult females, (ii) adult males, (iii) young people in custody on 4 November 2020.

Lucy Frazer: Centrally held court data does not include the amount of time spent remanded in custody, and therefore obtaining this information would result in a disproportionate cost to the department.Prison receptions data has enabled an approximation of the data that has been requested. The attached tables provide information on the longest, median and seventy-fifth percentile length of time that adult women, adult men and young people spent remanded in custody up to the point that they were sentenced (Table 1); and also time spent remanded in custody pre-trial up to the point that they were admitted to prison between conviction and sentencing (for those who spent time on pre-trial remand) (Table 2). This data includes the first two quarterly periods for 2020 (January to June) – which tallies with the latest available published prison receptions data.Table 1 (xlsx, 13.2KB)

Treasury

Revenue and Customs: Discrimination

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many complaints there have been of sexist behaviour in the workplace in HMRC in each of the last five years, by directorate.

Jesse Norman: Since 2016 there have been 22 complaints of sexist behaviour as detailed below. YearFormal Complaints recorded under sex category2016less than 52017620186201962020 (to date)less than 5 On the request to break these figures down further by directorate, releasing this data would breach HMRC’s statutory obligations under the General Data Protection Regulation, as it could lead to identification of the individuals concerned. The figures provided are for formal complaints recorded under the ‘sex’ category, which includes sex discrimination and sexual harassment. It is possible that other complaints may have had an aspect of sexist behaviour, but if it was not the primary reason for the complaint it could have been recorded under a different category.

Google: Taxation

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of Google's reported treatment of Digital Services Tax as a regulatory cost in an email to customers of that company.

Jesse Norman: The DST is a tax on businesses that generate revenue from the provision of social media services, search engines and online marketplaces.The Government cannot comment on how individual businesses have responded to that tax.

Revenue and Customs: Debt Collection

Navendu Mishra: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many debt collection companies HMRC has employed since the start of the covid-19 outbreak.

Jesse Norman: HMRC use eight different debt collection agencies and the debt can be spread across them at any one time. HMRC do not contract directly with these agencies, but instead have access to their services via the Debt Market Integrator. This organisation acts as a broker and routes the debts to the debt collection agencies that are members of the panel. This is the same way that other Government departments have access to debt collection agency services. The Debt Market Integrator itself is a joint venture between Cabinet Office and the private sector.

Employment: Coronavirus

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what comparative assessment he has made of the effectiveness of Government fiscal support for (a) job retention and (b) self-employed people during the covid-19 pandemic in the UK and internationally.

Jesse Norman: The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) continues to be one of the most generous schemes in the world. Given the schemes’ economic and fiscal significance, HM Treasury and HMRC are undertaking evaluations of the CJRS and the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS). The CJRS Evaluation Plan, which was published on GOV.UK on 17 December 2020, sets out the evaluation approach.

Low Incomes: Staffordshire

Jonathan Gullis: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to support people on low incomes in (a) Stoke-on-Trent and (b) Staffordshire during the covid-19 outbreak.

Jesse Norman: The Government is committed to supporting all groups in society, including the most vulnerable, with the challenges caused by COVID-19. In order to support those on low incomes in particular, the Government has announced a package of temporary welfare measures, which include a £20 per week increase to the Universal Credit standard allowance and the Working Tax Credit basic element, an increase in the Local Housing Allowance rates to the 30th percentile of market rents and a relaxation of the UC minimum income floor for all self-employed claimants. In addition to the above measures, workers on low incomes who cannot work from home and who are asked to self-isolate may be eligible for a one-off payment of £500 under the Test and Trace Support Payment scheme. The Government has also announced a £170m COVID Winter Grant Scheme to support the most vulnerable over winter that will be run by councils in England, with at least 80% of the funding earmarked to provide support with food and bills. The Government has also provided unprecedented support for businesses and individuals in order to protect jobs and incomes across the UK through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS). As at 31 October 2020, there were 7,000 employments furloughed in the unitary authority of Stoke-on-Trent (take-up rate of 6%) and 27,200 employments furloughed in Staffordshire County (take-up rate of 7%). HM Treasury modelling published in July showed that Government support in response to the COVID-19 pandemic as of May 2020 had supported the poorest working households the most (as a proportion of income).

Housing: Insulation

Kim Johnson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of suspending the time limit for the repayment of the stamp duty surcharge on second properties where the property sale has been delayed due to (a) cladding and (b) EWS1 issues.

Jesse Norman: Homeowners who pay the higher rate of Stamp Duty Land Tax on purchases of additional property can receive a refund of the higher rate if they sell their old main residence within three years of the purchase. For most people, three years is enough time to sell a property. However, the Government recognises that there will sometimes be exceptional circumstances not in the control of the buyer or seller which mean that a previous main residence cannot be sold within three years. If someone purchased a new main residence on or after 1 January 2017, they may be eligible to apply for a refund if they were prevented from selling their previous main residence before the expiry of the three-year time limit owing to exceptional circumstances beyond their control. The previous main residence must be sold before HMRC will consider whether the circumstances are exceptional.

Non-domestic Rates: Coronavirus

Stephen Farry: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate his Department has made of how much and what proportion of covid-related rates relief returned by UK supermarkets will be allocated to the Northern Ireland Executive.

Jesse Norman: The UK Government has been clear throughout the pandemic that businesses should use support appropriately, and welcomes any decision to repay support where it is no longer needed. Any funds returned will support the continuing efforts to protect people’s jobs and incomes. The UK Government is working with the devolved administrations and will set out details for business on making repayments shortly.

Stamp Duty Land Tax: Coronavirus

Stephen Farry: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of extending the Stamp Duty holiday, to (a) mitigate the effect of logistical delays occurring during property transactions as a result of covid-19 restrictions and (b) facilitate full outworking of sales that are underway that may otherwise not complete.

Jesse Norman: The temporary SDLT relief was designed to stimulate immediate momentum in a property market where property transactions fell by as much as fifty per cent during the COVID-19 lockdown in March. This momentum in the property market will also support the jobs of people whose employment relies on custom from the property industry, such as retailers and tradespeople. The Government will continue to monitor the market. However, as the relief was designed to provide an immediate stimulus to the property market, the Government does not plan to extend this relief.

Revenue and Customs: Telephone Services

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many calls to the telephone lines operated for taxation advice by HMRC were abandoned by the caller before reaching an advisor, in each quarter of the last five years.

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what proportion of calls to the HMRC taxation advice line were terminated by the caller before reaching an adviser in each quarter of the last five years; and what the average wait in seconds was before the call was terminated in each quarter of the last five years.

Jesse Norman: It is not possible to provide comparable data for 2015-16 because HMRC changed their telecoms provider part way through the year. The data for the other years is below.130043130044   Taxes Helplines (number of calls abandoned by customers)Taxes Helplines (percentage of all calls made that were abandoned by customers)Average wait time by customer before abandoning2016-17Q1Jun-16283,5686.75%425 sec Q2Sep-16138,7624.10%387 sec Q3Dec-1696,6012.80%381 sec Q4Mar-17166,1703.68%398 sec2017-18Q1Jun-17336,5478.27%337 sec Q2Sep-17338,1289.30%312 sec Q3Dec-17261,2317.98%317 sec Q4Mar-18355,6598.08%317 sec2018-19Q1Jun-18394,78110.06%380 sec Q2Sep-18296,4438.58%322 sec Q3Dec-18295,4169.41%329 sec Q4Mar-19386,5379.39%343 sec2019-20Q1Jun-19532,86914.23%768 sec Q2Sep-19342,88210.06%350 sec Q3Dec-19256,3638.36%312 sec Q4Mar-20450,57811.61%449 sec2020-21Q1Jun-20465,58522.47%764 sec Q2Sep-20398,63015.58%568 sec HMRC publish their monthly and quarterly performance data: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmrc-monthly-performance-reports and https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmrc-quarterly-performance-updates.

Financial Services: Digital Technology

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Royal Society's report entitled, Digital Technology and the Planet, published on 3 December 2020, what plans he has to ask the Financial Conduct Authority to develop guidance on the energy proportionality of digital technologies.

John Glen: In October 2019, the FCA published a Statement on Climate Change. This set out the FCA’s key interests and intended outcomes:I. Enhancing environmental disclosures.II. Improving the regulatory framework – including by encouraging innovation.III. Protecting consumers – including by combatting greenwashing. The FCA is an operationally independent, non-governmental body, given statutory powers by the Financial Services and Markets Act (2000) as amended by the Financial Services Act (2012). Developing new guidance is the responsibility of the FCA, and therefore this matter is one for the FCA to consider.

Scotland Office: Public Expenditure

Mhairi Black: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the planned budget is of the (a) Office of the Secretary of State for Scotland, (b) Union Unit and (c) Union Taskforce for 2021-22.

Steve Barclay: The planned budget of the Office of the Secretary of State for Scotland and Office of the Advocate General for 2021-22 is £11.43m. There is no information available on any specific business unit as HM Treasury does not make decisions on individual business areas within Departments.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

China: Religious Freedom

Ms Marie Rimmer: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he and his Department plans to take to (a) secure details and an explanation for the arrest of Meihong Wang in  Heilongjiang Province and (b) help secure the release of Meihong Wang and (c) promote freedom of religious belief in China.

Nigel Adams: We are aware of the reported abduction of Meihong Wang in Harbin, China. We remain deeply concerned about the persecution of Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, Falun Gong practitioners and others on the grounds of their religion or belief in China. The freedom to practise, change or share ones faith or belief without discrimination or violent opposition is a human right that all people should enjoy. We regularly raise our concerns about the human rights situation with the Chinese authorities, and will continue to do so.

UNRWA: Refugees

Bob Blackman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent representations he has made alongside international counterparts to the UN Relief and Works Agency regarding its working definition of a refugee.

Bob Blackman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the UN Relief and Works Agency’s working definition of a Palestinian refugee.

James Cleverly: The UK is a long-term supporter of the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA). We recognise UNRWA's unique mandate from the UN General Assembly, to protect and provide protection and core services to Palestinian refugees across the Middle East. UNRWA is also a vital humanitarian and stabilising force in the region. The operational definition of a Palestinian refugee is any person whose "normal place of residence was Palestine during the period 1 June 1946 to 15 May 1948 and who lost both home and means of livelihood as a result of the 1948 conflict." We are clear that the status of Palestinian refugees must be agreed as part of wider peace negotiations. Until that time, the UK remains firmly committed to supporting the UNRWA and Palestinian refugees across the Middle East.

China: Sanctions

Wera Hobhouse: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he is taking steps to extend the sanctions list to include senior Chinese Communist Party officials responsible for human rights violations against Tibetan and Uyghur people.

Nigel Adams: On 6 July, the UK Government established the Global Human Rights sanctions regime. The Government's position remains that it is not appropriate to speculate about who may be designated under the Global Human Rights sanctions regime, as to do so could reduce the impact of the designations. We will keep all evidence and potential listings under close review.

China: Uighurs

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she is taking to engage with the Chinese Government to end the use of re-education camps in Xinjiang, in the context of protect detainees from covid-19.

Nigel Adams: The risk of the spread of Covid-19 in places of detention is a matter of concern in a number of countries around the world. With regards to Xinjiang, we remain deeply concerned by the arbitrary detention of over a million Uyghurs and other minorities in Xinjiang in "political re-education camps", including advocates of Uyghurs' rights, culture, language and religion. We continue to urge China to implement UN recommendations - to end the practice of extra-judicial detention of Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities, and to allow the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, and other UN experts unfettered access to the region.

CDC: Fossil Fuels

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what plans he has to prevent the CDC Group from funding fossil fuel projects overseas.

James Duddridge: The Prime Minister announced at the Climate Ambition Summit on 12 December that the Government will no longer provide any new direct financial or promotional support for the fossil fuel energy sector overseas, with very limited exemptions. Following the announcement, CDC published its updated fossil fuel policy which excludes future investment in the vast majority of fossil fuel subsectors including coal, oil and upstream gas exploration and production, with very limited exceptions. CDC's approach requires investments to demonstrate alignment with a country's pathway to net zero emissions by 2050. Further details on CDC's updated fossil fuel policy are available at: https://www.cdcgroup.com/en/news-insight/news/announcing-our-new-fossil-fuel-policy-and-guidance-on-natural-gas-power-plants/?fl=true

Private Infrastructure Development Group: Fossil Fuels

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much funding the Private Infrastructure Development Group has allocated to fossil fuel projects in each of the last 10 years.

James Duddridge: As the Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG)is a multi-donor funded institution, the FCDO has worked closely with its co-owners, which include DGIS (Holland), DFAT (Australia), SECO (Switzerland), SIDA (Sweden) and the IFC (part of the World Bank Group), to shift PIDG's investments further in favour of renewables. In June 2020, PIDG announced a new climate change approach to help developing countries transition towards a global net zero carbon economy by 2050, and will not make new investments in energy projects powered by coal or oil. Of PIDG's investments in the past 10 years, $547.7 million have been to projects using fossil fuels as a fuel source. Over the same period, PIDG has invested $715.6 million in renewable power projects. In the most recent 5 years (2015-2019) the balance has shifted further in favour of renewables, with 66% of all power generation investments being to renewable power projects.Data on all PIDG investment commitments are available online via its Results Monitoring Database and its annual reports.FCDO also publishes data relating to its funding to PIDG via DevTracker.

Gaza: Health Services

Kim Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help support the healthcare system in Gaza during the covid-19 pandemic.

James Cleverly: The UK remains concerned about the ongoing humanitarian situation in Gaza and the impact of COVID-19 on an already fragile healthcare system. Recognising the severity of the situation, we were one of the first donors to provide funding to support the health and humanitarian response to the COVID-19 pandemic in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs). We have provided £1.25 million funding (the World Health Organisation with £630,000 and the United Nations Children's Fund with £620,000) to purchase and co-ordinate delivery of medical equipment, treat critical care patients, train frontline health workers and scale up laboratory testing capacity - mainly in Gaza.In addition, we are providing £2.5 million to the World Food Programme to provide food and cash assistance for the most vulnerable Palestinians to help alleviate the humanitarian situation. We have also contributed £1 million to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency's Emergency Appeal in the OPTs which will help provide emergency food to over one million food-insecure refugees in Gaza.

Gaza: Food Supply

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment his Department has made of the effect of the covid-19 pandemic on levels of food insecurity in Gaza.

James Cleverly: The UK remains concerned about the ongoing humanitarian situation in Gaza, compounded by the impact of COVID-19.We recognise the importance of tackling food insecurity. To support, we are providing £2.5 million to the World Food Programme to provide food and cash assistance to the most vulnerable Palestinians. We have also contributed £1 million to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency's Emergency Appeal in the Occupied Palestinian Territories which will help provide emergency food to over one million food-insecure refugees in Gaza.

Gaza: Coronavirus

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help tackle the gap in oxygen supply for covid-19 patients in Gaza.

James Cleverly: We remain concerned about the capacity of the Palestinian health system to cope with the increasing number of COVID-19 cases, especially in Gaza. We welcome the recent 30% increase in hospital beds for patients suffering critical and severe cases, and the recent procurement by World Health Organisation of two additional oxygen generators. The UK continues to monitor the situation closely.

Gaza: Health Services

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help support Gaza’s healthcare system during the increase in covid-19 cases in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

James Cleverly: The UK remains concerned about the ongoing humanitarian situation in Gaza and the impact of COVID-19 on an already fragile healthcare system. Recognising the severity of the situation, we were one of the first donors to provide funding to support the health and humanitarian response to the COVID-19 pandemic in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs). We have provided £1.25 million funding (the World Health Organisation with £630,000 and the United Nations Children's Fund with £620,000) to purchase and co-ordinate delivery of medical equipment, treat critical care patients, train frontline health workers and scale up laboratory testing capacity - mainly in Gaza.In addition, we are providing £2.5 million to the World Food Programme to provide food and cash assistance for the most vulnerable Palestinians to help alleviate the humanitarian situation. We have also contributed £1 million to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency's Emergency Appeal in the OPTs which will help provide emergency food to over one million food-insecure refugees in Gaza.

Gaza: Coronavirus

Wayne David: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the effect of the covid-19 pandemic on the economic situation in Gaza.

James Cleverly: The UK remains concerned about the economic impact of COVID-19 on the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs), particularly in Gaza. The impact of COVID-19 alongside high unemployment rates, three years of low economic growth and persistent fiscal deficits has resulted in a sharp decline in economic activity across the OPTs. Recent World Bank reports indicate GDP will contract by about 8 percent in 2020. A modest bounce back is expected in 2021 with growth returning to about 2.5 percent.UK Aid includes helping improve water and energy supply, particularly in Gaza and addressing movement and access restrictions that currently inhibit trade. By focusing on supporting sustainable economic development, we aim to improve daily life for thousands of Palestinians and aid the longer-term recovery from COVID-19.

Belarus: Foreign Relations

Stewart Malcolm McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with (a) independent media, (b) human rights organisations and (c) community groups in Belarus on the UK's direct support to civil society and independent media in Belarus.

Wendy Morton: The UK is committed to defending and developing civil society and media freedoms in Belarus. We have doubled our financial support to civil society, with £1.5 million in project funding over the next two years. We are working with partners on reform for vulnerable people in Belarus, including working through UN agencies, to promote the economic empowerment of women. We are supporting and training independent media organisations. On 16 November the Foreign Secretary paid tribute to the courageous work undertaken by journalists by awarding the inaugural Canada-UK Media Freedom award to the Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ). Representatives of independent media and the human rights group, Viasna, briefed the FCDO Permanent Under Secretary on 13 November. FCDO officials continue to engage with Human Rights Watch on the situation in Belarus.

Ukraine: Peace Negotiations

Stewart Malcolm McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his counterpart in Ukraine on Russia's attempts to reverse all unilateral measures that undermine the Minsk agreements.

Wendy Morton: During the Foreign Secretary's meeting with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba on 7 October, he reaffirmed the UK's commitment to supporting Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity. The UK has been clear on the importance of finding a diplomatic solution to the conflict in eastern Ukraine. We support the Minsk agreements and the work of Germany and France within the Normandy Format. The Russian Federation has taken unilateral steps which undermine Ukrainian sovereignty and run contrary to both the letter and the spirit of the Minsk agreements. We continue to call on Russia to fulfil the commitments it has made under the Minsk agreements and to use its undeniable influence on the armed formations it backs in eastern Ukraine to ensure they do likewise.

Belarus: Detainees

Stewart Malcolm McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with his international counterparts on allegations of detained protestors being tortured in Belarus.

Wendy Morton: The UK is deeply concerned by the reports of torture, cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment that have taken place in Belarus. The UK led sixteen partners in triggering the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Moscow Mechanism investigation into the allegations of human rights violations in Belarus. The subsequent report concludes that human rights violations have occurred on a massive and systematic scale. The UK has repeatedly raised its concerns directly with the Belarusian authorities. On, 9 December HMA Minsk joined EU, US and Swiss counterparts in a meeting with the Belarusian Foreign Minister and called on the authorities to end impunity, investigate allegations of torture and mistreatment and allow access to the detention centres for international observers. We have raised our concerns in the UN General Assembly, the UN Human Rights Council and at the OSCE, including a UK-hosted side event on Belarus at the OSCE Ministerial meeting on 3 December, where the Belarusian Association of Journalists and human rights organisations Viasna and Civil Solidarity briefed international delegations.

Developing Countries: Death

Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the merits of integrating proposals on sexual and reproductive health in the forthcoming Ending Preventable Deaths Action Plan.

Wendy Morton: The UK Government supports the Guttmacher-Lancet definition of sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), and SHRH services are a core pillar of our action to end preventable deaths of mothers, newborns and children by 2030. The COVID-19 pandemic has shown the importance of SRHR to this goal. Recent estimates suggest that, over one year, a 10-19% decline in reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health services, alongside increasing child malnutrition, will result in 24,400 additional maternal deaths and ?506,900 additional child deaths.

Syria: Schools

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking in response to reports by Syrian education NGOs that 44 FCDO-supported schools in northwest Syria have been attacked by the Assad regime and its allies in the past two years.

James Cleverly: Tackling the humanitarian impact of the Syria Crisis remains a priority for the FCDO. The UK is one of the largest donors to the Syrian humanitarian response having committed over £3.3 billion since 2012 and the UK is also one of the leading donors on education in North West Syria. The FCDO is in the process of assessing the impact of the ODA budget reduction on the UK's aid expenditure in SyriaTo date, the UK's Syria Education Programme is the UK's largest bilateral education programme and has supported over 401,235 (49.6% female) children in the North West. This programme has improved access to the teaching profession, supported schools during the COVID-19 pandemic, financially supported stipends for thousands of teachers and most importantly, supported children's access to high quality education and psycho social care.The regime's brutal targeting of schools is appalling. Many children have had their most formative years shaped by a backdrop of conflict. The Foreign Secretary has called for a nationwide ceasefire as part of a political process, as the only way to end the Syrian conflict and we continue to call on all parties to maintain the agreed ceasefires.

Department for Work and Pensions

Employment: Supported Housing

Cat Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to enable service users of supported accommodation to access employment services.

Guy Opperman: The department (DWP) provides a range of support to the different vulnerable groups who may live in supported accommodation. For people at risk of homelessness, we help them to make Universal Credit claims, provide tailored support through Jobcentre Plus and priority access to the Work and Health Programme. DWP has also put into place a range of measures to support disabled people and their employers, including specialised employment support programmes such as Access to Work and Disability Confident. During the Covid-19 outbreak, we have made changes to ensure disabled people have still been able to access this specialist employment support.

Hospitality Industry: Coronavirus

Sir Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to her Department's 27 November 2020 policy document Transmission Risk in the Hospitality Sector, what proportion of hospitality businesses have been determined to have poor ventilation.

Mims Davies: Although the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has the national policy lead for occupational health and safety standards in the hospitality and catering industry, Local Authorities (LAs) are responsible for enforcing health and safety law at individual premises. HSE is unable to provide data showing what proportion of hospitality businesses have been determined to have poor ventilation as this data is not collected from LAs.

Jobcentres: Staffordshire

Jonathan Gullis: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what progress her Department has made in hiring additional work coaches in (a) Stoke-on-Trent and (b) Kidsgrove.

Mims Davies: DWP currently has 65 additional new Work Coaches to date for the Stoke-on-Trent area including Kidsgrove, with a further 15 to be deployed in early 2021.

Homelessness

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to support homeless people who require a fixed address to access public services.

Will Quince: If a Universal Credit claimant doesn't have a permanent address, there are a number of options available to them. They can use a 'care of' address, like the address of a family member or trusted friend. There is also the option of using a hostel address if the claimant is staying there, or in exceptional circumstances, the claimant can use their local jobcentre address. There are varied and complex reasons behind a person’s homelessness and that is why it is DWP’s priority to ensure homeless people get the appropriate support they need to move into work so they can succeed and move on with their lives. This support includes help for people to make a Universal Credit claim and to access the Jobcentre Plus employment offer, with priority access to the Work and Health Programme. Jobcentres in England are required to offer a voluntary referral to claimants who may be homeless or threatened with homelessness to a local housing authority of the claimant’s choice. The Department is committed to tackling homelessness and is supporting the manifesto commitment to end the blight of rough sleeping by the end of the next Parliament. The Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) has worked closely with local authorities and the sector to offer vulnerable people safe accommodation and support. The ‘Protect Programme’, provides targeted support to protect some of the most vulnerable people in our communities from Covid-19, and builds on the success of the still ongoing ‘Everyone In’ campaign - by September it had supported over 29,000 vulnerable people; with over 10,000 in emergency accommodation and nearly 19,000 moved on into settled accommodation. The Next Steps Accommodation Programme makes available the financial resources needed to support local authorities and their partners to prevent people from returning to the streets. Alongside this funding, the Government is also making available the expertise from MHCLG’s Rough Sleeping Initiative and Homelessness Advice and Support Adviser Teams to help coproduce accommodation provision and related support services. For the most up to date information relating to the Government’s response to homelessness and rough sleeping please refer to the following linkhttps://www.gov.uk/housing-local-and-community/homelessness-rough-sleeping

Hospitality Industry: Coronavirus

Sir Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what guidance his Department has issued for businesses in the hospitality sector that wish to improve ventilation within their properties in order to expedite covid-safe reopening.

Sir Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department  plans to update the guidance on ventilation for businesses in the hospitality sector in the context of the covid-19 outbreak.

Mims Davies: HSE recently updated web guidance on Ventilation and air conditioning during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic which is aimed at most businesses, including the hospitality sector. The guidance provides businesses with simple ways to identify areas in a workplace that may be poorly ventilated and measures they can take to improve ventilation in those areas. It also addresses the issue of balancing good ventilation with thermal comfort (keeping a comfortable workplace temperature).

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Plastics

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will introduce a date for banning the use of allsingle-use non-essential plastic items.

Rebecca Pow: We have already introduced a restriction on the supply of plastic straws, drinks stirrers and cotton buds from October this year. In addition, we are scoping out additional items for which a ban would be a suitable and proportionate measure. The Environment Bill will also allow us to tackle problematic plastics through a variety of policy measures, including measures to impose charges on single-use plastic items; introduce a deposit return scheme for drinks containers; and make producers cover the costs of collecting and managing plastic packaging waste. Generally, we prefer to help people and businesses make more sustainable choices, for example through better product labelling, rather than resorting to a charge or a ban. Plastic may be the best available material for some products and banning them may cause more harm than good. We expect the initiatives by industry, such as the UK Plastics Pact, combined with our reforms to work together to eliminate the most problematic plastics from use.

Food: Exports

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the six working day time period after the meeting of the Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed on 18 December 2020 for UK companies exporting food to the EU to implement new systems and IT upgrades in preparation for the end of the transition period.

Victoria Prentis: Scheduling for that Committee is a matter for the EU. EHC Online is a new digitised service which supports exports from Great Britain. The 126 new Export Health Certificates required for exporting goods to the EU at the end of the transition period are already available within the system. To help prepare businesses for the changes in how they trade with the EU, EHC Online has been open for registration to EU exporters since 8 October 2020 and this has been supported by webinars to more than 1000 businesses, in which EHC Online and the new EU forms have been demonstrated.

Food Supply: Brexit

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment the Government has made of the effect of potential (a) increased haulage costs and (b) disruption at the port of Felixstowe on UK food supplies after the transition period.

Victoria Prentis: Haulage firms operate on a commercial basis with the food industry. The haulage business model approaches pricing with consideration from a supply versus demand position. Changes in operation from 1 January may increase road haulage costs in the short-term for the food industry. Current disruption at the port of Felixstowe is due to global supply chain pressures rather than our trading relationship with the EU. The food industry is resilient and alternative routes are available. Although there may be some impact to shelf-life of ambient food products, there has not been any evidence to suggest shortages as a result of this global shipping situation. We will continue to monitor impact on food supply as a result of disruption.

Food: Waste

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effect on levels of food waste of the guidance on serving alcohol only with a substantial meal.

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing policies to ensure that food served as a substantial meal with alcohol is not wasted.

Rebecca Pow: Defra has not made an assessment of the impact of food waste levels as a result of this policy. However, we continue to support the hospitality sector to make sure good food is not wasted. Since 2018 we have supported the surplus redistribution sector with over £11 million of grants to make sure they have the infrastructure to get good food, including from the hospitality sector, to those who have a need. We are also supporting WRAP and its brokerage work bringing businesses together with suitable food redistributors. We are also directly helping hospitality businesses to waste less. The Food Waste Reduction Roadmap is open to the hospitality sector and sets out a series of milestones to Target, Measure and Act on their waste including the provision of sector specific tools to measure their waste. This programme is supported by the Guardians of Grub campaign which aims at empowering employees to waste less in its provision of advice, guidance and support.

Palm Oil: Sustainable Development

Ben Lake: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of (a) the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil and (b) similar schemes in preventing environmental and ecological destruction arising from the production of palm oil.

Rebecca Pow: The Government-convened UK Sustainable Palm Oil Initiative produced four briefings in March this year, each providing information on a palm oil standard including its approach to sustainability and providing information on impact. This was a continuation of work produced under the UK Roundtable on Sourcing Sustainable Palm Oil in 2015, which aimed to provide technical assistance to support UK industry users of palm oil to transition to fully sustainable palm oil supply chains.The briefings included the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil Standard. In addition, the briefings also covered the Indonesian Sustainable Palm Oil Standard, Malaysian Palm Oil Standard and International Sustainability and Carbon Certification. A fifth briefing was also produced to provide information on 'No Deforestation, No Peat, No Exploitation' policies.The briefings are available at: https://www.efeca.com/our-work/resources/palm-oil-briefings-and-annual-progress-reports/It is not for Government to comment on the effectiveness of specific certification schemes. RSPO is set through an independent process, which does not involve Governmental input; we do not provide advice on any specific standard. Our forthcoming due diligence legislation will provide a common standard across all commodities, based on legality in producer countries.

Food: Ports

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the effect on UK meat and dairy exporters of not prioritising perishable food at ports after the transition period.

Victoria Prentis: Defra consulted with industry stakeholders on which commodities should be prioritised in the event of severe traffic disruption for those travelling via the Short Straits. Three criteria were identified to inform that decision, two of which had to be met for prioritisation of any commodity to be agreed: i) The goods are highly perishable and will lose most of or all their value within five days or less;ii) The ‘perishable’ goods concerned are live animals and would give rise to animal welfare concerns if not moved in a timely manner and;iii) The goods would give rise to a disproportionate economic impact on a geographical area of the UK. Meat and dairy products did not meet two out of the three criteria set out above and were therefore not identified as prioritised commodities. We did consider whether a number of perishable commodities beyond those identified could be added to the list of those being prioritised. However, there is an additional capacity issue with respect to the numbers of vehicles and the overall traffic management in Kent, which if exceeded would put at risk the feasibility of the wider prioritisation contingency plan. On the issue of prioritising goods at ports, the prioritisation contingency described above focuses on the journey to port within the Kent strategic road network, specifically the M20. Defra and other Government departments are working intensively with the relevant ports to minimise further delays at those locations.

Food: Packaging

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate he has made of the amount of fresh food sold in the UK (a) with and (b) without plastic packaging.

Rebecca Pow: We do not collect data on the specific packaging used for certain product types. We estimate that in total roughly 2.3m tonnes of plastic packaging was placed on the market in 2019. We are currently developing Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) for packaging. Through this, we want to encourage producers to move to more recyclable packaging, where this is appropriate and practicable. EPR for packaging will see producers paying for the waste management costs associated with the packaging that they place on the market. In using more easily recyclable packaging, producers will pay less. Costs will be modulated (varied) to take account of various criteria, such as recyclability.

Drinking Water: Plastics

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effect of the provision ofdrinking water fountains on reducingthe use of single-use plastic water bottles in the last 10 years.

Rebecca Pow: The Government has not conducted a specific assessment of the effect of the provision of drinking water fountains on reducing the use of single-use plastic water bottles. The Government recognises the importance of making drinking water more readily available in public places, as a means of reducing single-use plastic bottles. The Resources and Waste Strategy for England, published in December 2018, sets out the Government’s plans to reduce, reuse, and recycle more plastic than we do now. Our target is to eliminate all avoidable plastic waste throughout the life of the 25 Year Environment Plan, but for the most problematic plastics we are going faster - which is why we commit to work towards all plastic packaging placed on the market being recyclable, reusable or compostable by 2025. To help combat the improper disposal and littering of drinks containers, including single-use plastic water bottles, the Government committed, in its 2019 manifesto, to introduce a deposit return scheme for drinks containers subject to further evidence and analysis. The aim of a DRS for drinks containers is to increase recycling and reduce the littering of such containers. The Government is committed to supporting water companies, high street retailers, coffee shops and transport hubs to offer new refill points for people to top-up water bottles for free in every major city and town in England. The water industry is developing a network of refill points through its Refill app, managed by City to Sea. The app signposts to over 30,000 free refill points and is estimated to have saved over 100 million single use bottles from entering our waste stream in 2019.

Drinking Water

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what funds he will make available for local authorities to invest inpublic water fountains and refill stations.

Rebecca Pow: The Government recognises the importance of making drinking water more readily available in public places, as a means of reducing single-use plastic bottles. As laid out in the 25 Year Environment Plan, and our Resource and Waste Strategy we are already taking action in this area. The Government is committed to supporting water companies, high street retailers, coffee shops and transport hubs to offer new refill points for people to top-up water bottles for free in every major city and town in England. The water industry is developing a network of refill points through its Refill app, managed by City to Sea. The app signposts to over 30,000 free refill points and was estimated to have saved over 100 million single use bottles from entering our waste stream in 2019. There are examples of water companies working with cities and communities across the country: the Mayor of London has partnered with Thames Water to install a network of more than 100 drinking water fountains in London, Yorkshire Water has installed fountains in Hull and Wessex Water is installing fountains in Wiltshire, United Utilities have helped install fountains in Manchester, and South West Water have also supported the installation of drinking water fountains on beaches. While Covid-19 has held up some of this work more recently given the complexities of having open drinking water fountains in the midst of a pandemic, the investment in water fountains fits with Water UK’s wider commitment to prevent the equivalent of 4 billion plastic water bottles ending up as waste by 2030.

Packaging: Recycling

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the merits of requiring all(a) cleaning product and (b) food containers to be reusable.

Rebecca Pow: We have not made a comprehensive assessment of the merits of requiring all cleaning product and food containers to be reusable. However, we do see merit in more packaging being reusable. An increase in the use of reusable packaging will help us to achieve our ambitions of doubling resource productivity and eliminating avoidable waste by 2050, as stated in our Resources and Waste Strategy (2018). We are currently developing Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) for packaging. Through this, we want to encourage producers to move to reusable packaging, where this is appropriate and practicable. EPR for packaging will see producers paying for the waste management costs associated with the packaging that they place on the market. In using reusable packaging, producers will pay less because they will only pay fees for the first time the reusable packaging is placed on the market. In addition to this, EPR for packaging will see those costs modulated (varied) to account for various criteria. This could see producers who use reusable or recyclable packaging paying less than those who do not. We will be consulting in early 2021 on our proposals for introducing EPR for packaging.

Tree Planting

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the Environmental Impact Assessment (Forestry) (England and Wales) Regulations 1999 enable the Forestry Commission to reverse a decision on a tree planting project (a) that has  been made incorrectly and (b) where previously withheld evidence has come to light; and if he will make a statement.

Rebecca Pow: The Environmental Impact Assessment (Forestry) (England and Wales) Regulations 1999 do not provide for Opinions or Assessments made by the Forestry Commissioners to be amended or repealed. A proposer’s application for a relevant forestry project to the Forestry Commissioners for their Opinion, or the proposer’s Notification of the project, once assessed, may result in a decision that consent under the regulations is not required. This decision is based on evaluating all the evidence available at the time. Where an assessment of a relevant forestry project results in a decision that consent under the regulations is required the applicant must provide an Environmental Statement before the project is determined. An applicant for consent may appeal the decision where consent has been refused or additional conditions have been imposed. Anyone aggrieved by the granting of consent can make an application to the High Court to have the consent quashed in specific circumstances. To help ensure that all relevant evidence is available when decisions are made on tree planting projects, the Forestry Commission has recently published a new Priority Habitat Identification Booklet, which makes clear the onus on developers of woodland creation proposals to identify priority habitats, is training staff on this, and is appointing three new ecologists who will help to ensure that biodiversity interests are identified. Natural England is also working with the Botanical Society of the British Isles and the Woodland Trust on a method which uses more up-to-date and comprehensive plant data to identify high-quality habitats to inform woodland planning decisions.

Export Health Certificates

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate he has made of the increase in export health certificates that will be required to allow the continuation of UK meat and dairy exports to the EU after the transition period.

Victoria Prentis: The number of Export Health Certificates (EHCs) required for exports of products of animal origin to the EU at the end of the transition period will vary depending on a number of factors. Our best estimate is the additional need will be five times the 57,000 EHCs issued in 2017 for third country trade, with up to half of these relating to exports of fish. The other half will be split across different product categories, including meat and dairy.

Export Health Certificates: Veterinary Medicine

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate his Department has made of the number of vets that will be required to manage the potential increase in export health certificates after the transition period.

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many UK vets are qualified to approve export health certificates; and what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the number of vets to meet demand after the transition period.

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect of a shortage of vets for signing export health certificates on UK meat and dairy exports to the EU after the transition period.

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to (a) increase certification resource and (b) simplify the export process to help ensure an adequate number of vets to certify exports of meat and dairy to the EU after the transition period.

Victoria Prentis: We are working hard to increase the number of Official Veterinarians to meet demand for certification post transition period, to ensure that the food industry can take advantage of the opportunities and changes that the UK’s new chapter will bring. There are a range of challenges in estimating the number of OVs that will be needed but, based on our modelling of a central scenario, we expect numbers to be sufficient.The number of Official Veterinarians qualified to sign Export Health Certificates (EHCs) for animal products has grown from approximately 600 to approximately 1300 since February 2019. The training required has been available free of charge since October 2020 and 468 vets are currently enrolled on the relevant training course via this scheme. In addition to this we are providing funding for surge capacity veterinarians as short-term support for the end of the transition period should localised shortages arise.We have put in place a range of mitigations to simplify processes, including the development of EHC Online and the launch of the Groupage Export Facilitation Scheme for products packaged for the final consumer from stable supply chains.

Food: Shortages

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment the Government has made of the extent of potential food shortages after the transition period (a) with and (b) without agreement on the future relationship with the EU.

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment the Government has made of the extent of potential food price rises after the transition period (a) with and (b) without agreement on the future relationship with the EU.

Victoria Prentis: The UK has a highly resilient food supply chain and a food industry which is experienced in dealing with disruptions to food supply. This includes establishing alternative supply routes and suppliers, where appropriate, and other measures to minimise disruption. The Government has well established ways of working with the food industry including in situations with the potential to disrupt supply. The Government has carried out extensive planning with the food industry and the Devolved Administrations to prepare for the end of the year. This includes planning for risks that might arise at the end of the transition period, whether or not there is an agreement on the future relationship with the EU. Our overall assessment of risks to food supply at the end of transition is that there may be disruption to some products but there will not be an overall shortage of food in the UK. There are a number of factors which can affect consumer food prices, including agri-food import prices, domestic manufacturing costs and currency exchange rates. Most food sectors are accustomed to fluctuations in supply chain costs, and this does not necessarily translate into consumer price rises.

Export Health Certificates: Veterinary Medicine

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of increasing the (a) number of Certification Support Officers (CSO) and (b) volume of work undertaken by CSOs in order to support Official Veterinarians with a potential increase in export health certificates after the transition period.

Victoria Prentis: Defra is facilitating the employment of Certification Support Officers by both Official Veterinarians and local authorities to assist with export health certification ahead of the end of the transition period. Since October 2020 the training that is needed for an individual to qualify as a CSO has been available free of charge and CSO numbers GB wide have grown by over 50%. My officials have made webinars available to certifiers where the value of CSO role in assisting OVs and LA certifiers in their work is emphasised. Follow up Q&A sessions are being held this week.

Home Office

Police: Suicide

Dehenna Davison: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what data her Department holds on the number of (a) serving and (b) retired police officers who have died by suicide in the last 10 years.

Dehenna Davison: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of trends in the suicide rate amongst (a) serving and (b) retired police officers.

Kit Malthouse: The Home Office does not centrally hold the information requested as the Office for National Statistics publish data on suicide by occupation, including police officers.Information on suicides by occupation can be found here: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/deaths/adhocs/10807suicidebyoccupationenglandandwales2011to2018registrationsThe statistics show that police officer (sergeant and below) suicide deaths in England remain relatively steady and small in number (e.g. 13 in 2011, reaching a high of 21 in 2012 and in the teens each year since, with 13 in 2019).The death of any serving or retired police officer is a tragedy. The Government and police leaders take this matter seriously and are working to support the mental and physical wellbeing of all police officers and staff.We have invested in programmes which offer help directly to officers and staff. This includes £7.5 to fund the development of the National Police Wellbeing Service, which was launched in 2019. The Service is helping forces to identify where there is most risk of impacts on mental health, and developing work around building resilience, as well as putting in place support for those who need it in response to traumatic events.

Police: Suicide

Dehenna Davison: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what support her Department is providing to police forces to prevent suicides amongst (a) serving and (b) retired police officers.

Kit Malthouse: The death of any serving or retired police officer is a tragedy. The Government and police leaders take this matter seriously and are working to support the mental and physical wellbeing of all police officers and staff.We have invested in programmes which offer help directly to officers and staff. This includes £7.5 to fund the development of the National Police Wellbeing Service, which was launched in 2019. The Service is helping forces to identify where there is most risk of impacts on mental health, and developing work around building resilience, as well as putting in place support for those who need it in response to traumatic events.The Government has also accelerated work to introduce a Police Covenant, which will ensure our police get the support and protection they need. We have been clear that the Covenant will also cover those who are retired from policing, to ensure that they are also supported effectively once they leave the service. The Covenant will be enshrined in law, with provisions being brought forward later this session, and the Home Secretary will have a duty to report annually on the work undertaken.Our focus will be on health and wellbeing, physical protection and support for families. We are in no doubt that an area we must focus on is mental health support. We will continue to work closely with policing partners to ensure the Covenant has a lasting impact on both serving and retired officers and staff.

Immigration

Kim Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she has taken to reduce the number of immigration enforcement visits made in error to British citizens.

Chris Philp: Immigration Compliance Teams conduct immigration enforcement visits to residential and business premises. Extensive checks are undertaken on all individuals before any action is undertaken.These checks include searches of all internal Home Office databases and where necessary external checks, such as birth or financial checks. In the immediate aftermath of Windrush, additional processes were put in place to carefully check the status of Commonwealth nationals to minimise the risk of tasking visits involving British nationals or those with the right to remain the United Kingdom.

Immigration Controls: Heathrow Airport

Steve Double: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 2 December 2020 to Question 120898 on Heathrow Airport, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the level of resource and support provided to Border Force to ensure that it is able to effectively discharge its duties at Heathrow within agreed service level agreements (a) over the Christmas period and (b) at the end of the transition period.

Steve Double: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the maximum queue time for non-EEA passengers at Heathrow Airport during the period of national restrictions in England from 5 November 2020 to 2 December 2020.

Chris Philp: Border Force is confident that resources to meet anticipated overall operational requirements are in place for the Christmas and transition period, with Border Force recruiting sufficient additional frontline staff and continuing to build staffing levels during 2020 across all critical ports. This will ensure full operational readiness at the UK border to meet the requirements from the end of transition.Resource and staffing requirements at every port, including Heathrow, are continually reviewed by Border Force working with airport operators including Heathrow Airport Ltd, and resources are deployed flexibly as and when they are required.Wait times in airports can be caused by a number of factors, not just related to resourcing. This includes the volume of immigration case working, additional support, checks in relation to Covid-19, and specific security activity. Our teams seek to balance this range of tasking each day. Whilst mindful of passenger wait times and experience, our primary objective is to ensure the security of the border.New Border Force staff receive a comprehensive package of training prior to operational deployment. comprehensive guidance and training plans have been developed to upskill BF frontline officers in new policy, process and system changes for the end of the Transition Period. Initial training is further reinforced and supplemented by on the job mentoring once new staff have been deployed to UK ports.Figures for the queue time for non-EEA passengers during the period from 5 November 2020 2 December 2020 are yet to be published.

Refugees: Resettlement

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what progress she has made on resettling refugee families under the Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme; and how many people she plans to settle under that scheme in the next 12 months.

Chris Philp: The Home Office is committed to publishing data in an orderly way as part of the regular quarterly Immigration Statistics, in line with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics. These can be found at:  www.gov.uk/government/collections/migration-statisticsTo access the number of refugees resettled, access the latest statistical release using the link above, then “data tables”, “asylum and resettlement” and select either the summary or detailed resettlement tables. The latest set of figures were released on 26 November 2020.We have been working closely with key domestic and international stakeholders on plans to safely resume UK resettlement arrivals against the backdrop of unprecedented restrictions and pressures caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.As a result of this work the UK has restarted UK resettlement arrivals to fulfil our commitment of resettling 20,000 refugees affected by the conflict in Syria under the Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme (VPRS) and we are working closely with partners to deliver this commitment.   Decisions regarding resettlement beyond the completion of this scheme are yet to be made and will need to take account of the impact of COVID-19 and the ongoing pressures on the asylum system.

Immigration: Coronavirus

Bell Ribeiro-Addy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will suspend the in-person reporting of migrants to immigration reporting centres  (a) in the event of a national lockdowns and (b) during the covid-19 outbreak.

Chris Philp: On Tuesday 17 March, following Public Health and Government guidance relating to COVID19 and the developing situation, we paused immigration reporting and sent an SMS text message to reportees with a valid mobile telephone number on our systems informing them of this. On Tuesday 24 March we maintained the decision to close reporting centres and police reporting temporarily following the Prime Minister’s address to the nation. This was because we were not confident that we could practice safe social distancing and operate within a COVID secure environment.Immigration Enforcement recommenced face to face reporting in July and August for limited, priority cohorts of people. We have implemented Safe Systems of Working (SSOW) and Risk Assessments in all our Reporting Centres where we have put in place robust social distancing measures; health screening questions are asked as a person enters; face masks are offered to those who have travelled without them; one-way systems and sanitiser stations are placed throughout our buildings. We continue to review our current reporting arrangements in line with any new local and national COVID restrictions that are put in place.Before inviting individuals into reporting, case owners will make an assessment based on the harm that they may pose to the public, as well as the vulnerability and personal circumstances of all of those we ask to report. We continue to keep in contact with the overall reporting population by telephone to update individuals on the current reporting position. An SMS text or email/letter is sent to those required to recommence reporting informing them of the date and time they should report, along with relevant advice on COVID. We have also updated the reporting pages on GOV.UK for those who report and their representatives. This information includes how to travel most safely by public transport, avoiding both busy transport hubs and traveling at peak times; advice on reporting alone where possible; and what to do if those reporting have symptoms or are shielding and how to contact their local reporting centre.

Offenders: Deportation

Jonathan Gullis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to remove foreign national offenders from (a) Stoke-on-Trent and (b) Kidsgrove.

Chris Philp: One of this Government’s key objectives is to protect the public by removing foreign national offenders who commit criminal offences and have no right to remain in the UK. Foreign nationals who abuse our hospitality by committing crimes should be in no doubt of our determination to deport them irrespective of where they live, including Stoke-on-Trent and Kidsgrove, and since January 2019, we have removed 6,450 foreign national offenders from the UK.All foreign nationals who receive a custodial sentence are referred to the Home Office to consider removal action. Every week we remove foreign criminals from the UK to different countries who have no right to be here. During the Covid-19 pandemic, we have continued to return and deport foreign offenders and other immigration offenders where flight routes have been available to us, both on scheduled flights and charter flights.For non-European Economic Area (EEA) nationals, deportation will be pursued where it is conducive to the public good including where a person receives a custodial sentence of 12 months or more, commits an offence that caused serious harm or is a persistent offender. Currently, European Economic Area (EEA) nationals are deported in accordance with European Union (EU) law on the grounds of public policy or public security.The UK’s departure from the EU means that, in future, an EEA national who commits an offence after the end of the transition period (31 December 2020) will be considered under the same deportation thresholds that apply to non-EEA nationals.We only return those with no legal right to remain in the UK, including foreign national offenders. Individuals are only returned to their country of origin when the Home Office and, where applicable, the Courts deem it is safe to do so.This Government’s priority is keeping the people of this country safe, and we make no apology for seeking to remove dangerous foreign criminals.

Asylum: Tees Valley

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many asylums seekers have been waiting for a decision on their case for more than (a) six months and (b) twelve months within (i) Stockton Borough Council area and (ii) Tees Valley Combined Authority area.

Chris Philp: The Home Office does not publish data on the number of asylum seekers who have been waiting for a decision on their case for more than (a) six months and (b) twelve months within (i) Stockton Borough Council area and (ii) Tees Valley Combined Authority area.However, the Home Office does publish data on the number asylum applications awaiting an initial decision by duration, for main applicants only. This data can be found at Asy_04 of the published Immigration Statistics:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/immigration-statistics-year-ending-september-2020/list-of-tablesThe Home Office are committed to ensuring asylum claims are considered without unnecessary delay, individuals who need protection are granted asylum as soon as possible and can start to integrate and rebuild their lives, including those granted at appeal.

Refugees: Resettlement

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment her Department has made of the potential barriers to restarting the UK's refugee resettlement scheme.

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will increase the UK's resettlement target in 2021 in response to the reduced number of refugees resettled in 2020.

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent discussions she has had with her international counterparts on increasing the global number of refugee resettlement places.

Chris Philp: The UK is one of the world’s leading refugee resettlement states. Over recent years the Home Office has worked in partnership with UNHCR and other resettlement states to increase global resettlement capacity, including through leading various international fora. We have also provided direct advice and assistance to a number of states, supporting them to start, expand or develop their own resettlement schemes.Alongside our international work, we have also been working closely with our key domestic stakeholders on plans to safely resume UK resettlement arrivals against the backdrop of unprecedented restrictions and pressures caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.As a result of this work, and as announced by Baroness Williams of Trafford in the House of Lords on 9 November, the UK will shortly restart UK resettlement arrivals to fulfil our commitment of resettling 20,000 refugees affected by the conflict in Syria under the Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme (VPRS) and we are working closely with partners to deliver this commitment.Decisions regarding resettlement beyond the completion of this scheme, including the number of refugees we plan to resettle, are yet to be made and will need to take account of the impact of COVID-19 and the ongoing pressures on the asylum system.

Immigration

Kim Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will publish a breakdown of immigration enforcement visit statistics for the last 12 months by (a) location, (b) nationality, (c) ethnicity and (d) resultant arrests.

Kim Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will publish data on immigration enforcement visits on a regular basis by (a) location, (b) nationality and (c) ethnicity.

Chris Philp: To maintain the highest standard of accuracy, the Home Office prefer to refer to published data, as this has been subject to rigorous quality assurance under National Statistics protocols prior to publication.We do not routinely publish data regarding breakdowns of immigration enforcement visits statistics by location, nationality, ethnicity and resultant arrests as to do so could only be done at disproportionate cost. All data published by the Home Office is considered in line with the Code of Practice for Statistics.Our published data is available at the following links: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/immigration-enforcement-data-august-2020https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/immigration-statistics-year-ending-june-2020/summary-of-latest-statistics

Department for Education

Academies

Apsana Begum: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many (a) primary and (b) secondary schools have newly attained Academy status since 16 March 2020.

Nick Gibb: Since 16 March 2020, 212 primary schools and 30 secondary schools have converted to academy status. In September, a further 23 primary and 13 secondary schools newly opened as Free Schools and University Technical Colleges (UTCs). Table 1 shows the breakdown of primary and secondary academy conversions (excluding Free Schools and UTCs) in the months following 16 March 2020.Table 1: Breakdown of primary and secondary academy openers by month since 16 March 2020 (excluding Free Schools and UTCs)MonthPrimary OpenersSecondary OpenersApril435May152June102July161August21September458October152November245December424Total21230Source: Get Information About Schools, taken from 1 December 2020.

GCSE: Assessments

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans he has to ensure that the GCSE exams are (a) fair and (b) accessible to students in 2021 in the context of the covid-19 outbreak.

Nick Gibb: The Department recognises the challenges faced by schools, teachers, and students, and knows that disruption has been felt differently across the country and between schools and colleges in the same area and between students within individual institutions.In recognition of the challenges faced by students, the Department has announced a package of measures that will ensure students have a fair chance of demonstrating their knowledge and understanding of a subject in exams. A link to this package of measures can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-to-support-the-summer-2021-exams. These include grading that is more generous than previous years and adaptations to exams (for example, giving students advance notice of topic areas and exam support materials). These adaptations will allow students to use the remaining time before the exams more effectively, which will be of particular benefit to those most affected by learning loss.The Department has also confirmed the launch of an expert advisory group to consider the differential impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak on students and to recommend mitigations for these impacts, in support of the measures already announced. To ensure a successful delivery of the 2021 exams, and to ensure exams are accessible to all pupils, we are consulting with key stakeholders such as unions, schools and exam centres to discuss the logistics around this series and we will provide additional detail in the New Year.

Financial Services: Education

Bob Blackman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of Kickstart Money’s live virtual financial education sessions delivered by MyBnk to help ensure financial education continues in schools during the covid-19 outbreak.

Bob Blackman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to recommendation made in April 2016 by the APPG on Financial Education for Young People, what progress his Department has made on developing the delivery of financial education at a primary level; and if he will make a statement.

Bob Blackman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of early intervention financial education at a primary level; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Gibb: Education on financial matters ensures that pupils are well prepared to manage their money, make sound financial decisions and know where to seek further information if required. In 2014, for the first time, financial literacy was made statutory within the National Curriculum as part of the citizenship curriculum for 11 to 16 year olds.The Department also introduced a rigorous mathematics curriculum, which provides pupils with the knowledge and skills to make important financial decisions. The Department has published statutory programmes of study for mathematics and citizenship that outline what pupils should be taught about financial education from Key Stages 1 to 4.In the primary mathematics curriculum, there is a strong emphasis on the arithmetic that pupils should have. This knowledge is vital, as a strong understanding of numeracy and numbers will underpin the pupils’ ability to manage budgets and money. There is also some specific content about financial education such as calculations with money.The Department does not monitor or assess the resources that schools use and we trust schools to use their professional judgement and understanding of their pupils to develop the right teaching approach for their particular school, drawing on the expertise of subject associations. We will continue to work closely with the Money and Pensions Service, and other stakeholders such as Her Majesty’s Treasury, to consider what can be learned from other sector initiatives and how to provide further support for the teaching of financial education in schools.Schools should have resumed teaching an ambitious and broad curriculum in all subjects from the start of the autumn term. This means that all pupils will be taught a wide range of subjects so they can maintain their choices for further study and employment. The Department’s latest guidance on teaching to support children is set out here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-schools-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak/guidance-for-full-opening-schools.

Further Education: Expenditure

Colleen Fletcher: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the Government's (a) planned and (b) actual expenditure on 16 to 19 education provision was in each of the last five years in (i) Coventry, (ii) the West Midlands and (iii) England.

Gillian Keegan: 16 to 19 funding is not allocated to specific geographic locations. The department allocates the funding through a national funding formula to individual institutions, who are able to use their funds as appropriate to support students in line with the funding rules we set each year.We publish our allocations by institution and these can be found at the link below. This covers the last 5 academic years: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/16-to-19-education-funding-allocations#published-allocations.It should be noted that this data relates to institutions and is therefore not a measure of allocations to residents within Coventry or the West Midlands.

Teachers: Pay

Taiwo Owatemi: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, since the Spending Review 2020, what discussions he has had with the Chancellor on a potential pay-rise for teachers in college, primary and secondary School settings.

Nick Gibb: The Department for Education and Her Majesty’s Treasury have had ongoing discussions regarding teacher pay as part of the spending review process. These discussions have also informed the remit to the School Teachers’ Review Body, asking for recommendations on school teachers’ pay and conditions in maintained schools for the 2021/22 academic year, which was published on Tuesday 15 December.Although my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer has announced a temporary pause on pay rises for the majority of public sector workers, workers earning less than median earnings of £24,000 will receive an increase of at least £250: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/spending-review-2020-documents/spending-review-2020. School teachers will also continue to be eligible for performance related pay progression and pay rises from promotion. Academies will retain the freedom to set their own pay policies. Further Education and Sixth Form Colleges are independent organisations and, as such, are responsible for setting their own pay and conditions.

Universities: Equality

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to support and encourage diversity of thought amongst academics in UK universities.

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to ensure UK universities protect free speech.

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he is taking steps to prohibit no platform policies in universities; and if he will make a statement.

Michelle Donelan: This government has been clear in its commitment to strengthen academic freedom and ensure that our universities are places where free speech can thrive. Without action to counter attempts to discourage or even silence unpopular views, intellectual life on campus for both staff and students may be unfairly narrowed and diminished. That is why there is a commitment in the 2019 manifesto to strengthen academic freedom and free speech at universities.Academic freedom is a fundamental principle in the English higher education sector, as recognised in the Higher Education and Research Act 2017 and other legislation, allowing academic staff to question and test received wisdom and to put forward new ideas and controversial or unpopular opinions without placing themselves in jeopardy of losing their jobs or privileges.Free speech is protected in universities by law. Under the Education (No. 2) Act 1986, universities have a duty to “take such steps as are reasonably practicable to ensure that freedom of speech within the law is secured for members, students and employees of the establishment and for visiting speakers”.Higher education providers registered with the Office for Students must also comply with the ongoing registration condition to meet Public Interest Governance Principles. Principles I and VII relate to academic freedom and free speech.There have been some examples of attempts to restrict free speech under the banner of no-platforming or safe spaces, and it is important that this does not become commonplace. The government does not support blanket no-platforming of individuals or organisations.Individual providers have the autonomy to take their own decisions about which individuals are invited to speak on campus. However, in all circumstances, higher education providers must ensure they are complying with their freedom of speech duty obligations.To further strengthen academic freedom and free speech, a range of legislative and non-legislative options are being considered, and ministers will be looking at these carefully, working closely with regulatory bodies to assess next steps.

Universities: Coronavirus

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the effect of the staggered return of students to universities after the Christmas 2020 break on learning for qualifications that require (a) face-to-face contact and (b) practical training; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what support his Department will provide to universities who have been instructed to stagger the return of students following the Christmas 2020 break.

Michelle Donelan: The safety and wellbeing of staff and students in higher education (HE) is always our priority. The government is doing all it can to minimise the risks to those working and studying in our HE institutions in this unprecedented situation, whilst mitigating the impact on education.The government is committed to prioritising education and wants to enable all students who have travelled home for the winter break to return to their universities and resume their studies. On 2 December 2020, we published guidance on students returning to higher education for the spring term, which sets out our plans for staggering the return of students over a 5-week period. This guidance is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/higher-education-reopening-buildings-and-campuses/students-returning-to-higher-education-from-spring-term.Practical and placement students should return first, in line with their planned start dates, from 4 January to the week commencing 18 January 2021. HE providers will need to make an assessment of the courses and students that should be allowed to return first, based on the requirements of the curriculum and the need for practical face-to-face learning and equipment. Students on all remaining courses should be offered online learning from the beginning of term so they can continue their studies at home, and should be asked to return to their university over a 2-week period from 25 January.Testing students on return to campus is a key part of the plan for January and all students should be tested in order to protect themselves, others on campus and the wider community. The Department for Education is actively working with the Department for Health and Social Care to ensure that all HE providers can deliver government supported asymptomatic test sites utilising lateral flow devices, which will help to mitigate the risk of COVID-19 transmission during the staggered return.Personal protective equipment and kits will be provided to HE providers at no cost, along with access to digital solutions, training and clinical guidance to support testing. A cost recovery model is also in place for providers to recover costs for workforce, site set up and site furnishings.We recognise that this year has been incredibly difficult for students and that, in these exceptional circumstances, some may face financial hardship. I have announced that we are making available up to £20 million on a one-off basis to support those that need it most, particularly disadvantaged students.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Sportsgrounds: Coronavirus

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of his Department in ensuring equity in the opening up of sport (a) venues and (b) events following changing covid-19 restrictions.

Nigel Huddleston: The Government’s approach to reopening venues and events has been based on safety and wider public health concerns. All stakeholders are subject to the same regulations and covid secure guidance whilst the relevant governing bodies and local authorities have the power to make appropriate decisions.The £300m Sports Winter Survival Package, announced by the Secretary of State in November, is providing emergency funding to protect the immediate future of major spectator sports in England that have been the most severely impacted by covid restrictions over the winter.

Kidsgrove Sports Centre

Jonathan Gullis: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department is taking to help Kidsgrove Sports Centre to reopen.

Nigel Huddleston: Sports and physical activity facilities are crucial for adults and children to stay active. Government has provided unprecedented support to businesses through tax reliefs, cash grants and employee wage support, which many sport clubs have benefited from. On 22 October, the Government announced a £100m support fund for local authority leisure centres. In addition, Sport England has also provided over £220 million directly to support the sector through this pandemic with the Community Emergency Fund of £35m specifically to support community sport clubs and exercise centres.As the Prime Minister said on 23 November national restrictions ended on Wednesday 2 December, and gyms and sport facilities can reopen across all tiers. As set out in the COVID Winter Plan the decision to allocate tiers is based on a range of factors and will be reviewed every 14 days. In Tier 3 areas we have taken further measures to limit social interactions and therefore opportunities for the virus to spread. Outdoor organised sport can resume, but the Government will advise against contact sports with a higher risk of transmission, although these can still go ahead for under 18s and disabled groups. Group activity and exercise classes indoors are also advised against.I know that Sport England are continuing to work with Newcastle Under Lyme borough council and the charity on the development of Kidsgrove Sports Centre project.

Gambling: Internet

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what support is available for vulnerable gamblers to protect them from excessive online gambling during the covid-19 outbreak.

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the regulations in place to support problem gamblers.

Nigel Huddleston: Gambling operators providing facilities to customers in Great Britain must be licensed by the Gambling Commission and must abide by its player protection requirements. In response to the Covid outbreak, the Commission issued additional guidance for online operators to mandate increased customer interactions, a ban on direct marketing of bonus offers or promotions to customers showing signs of vulnerability, and a ban on operators allowing customers to reverse decisions to withdraw winnings. Data published by the Gambling Commission in November found that since the first national lockdown began, the majority (86%) of those surveyed had gambled the same amount or less than they had previously.Support and treatment services for people experiencing gambling problems have remained available throughout the Covid 19 period. These include the National Gambling Helpline and counselling services delivered by GamCare and other third sector providers, the NHS specialist gambling clinic in London and the NHS Northern Gambling Service. In April the Gambling Commission directed £8.8 million of regulatory settlement funds to commissioning charity GambleAware to support third sector treatment provision during Covid 19. Other avenues for support such as gambling self exclusion tools and opt-in gambling transaction blocks with banks have also remained available throughout the pandemic.The government launched its Review of the Gambling Act 2005 on 8 December with the publication of a Call for Evidence. The Review will be wide-ranging and evidence led, and aims to make sure that the regulation of gambling is fit for the digital age. The Call for Evidence will be open for 16 weeks until 31 March 2021, and further detail, including how to make a contribution, can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/review-of-the-gambling-act-2005-terms-of-reference-and-call-for-evidence/review-of-the-gambling-act-2005-terms-of-reference-and-call-for-evidence.

Gambling: Departmental Coordination

Carolyn Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how many times he or his officials have had discussions with (a) the Department of Health and Social Care and (b) HM Treasury on gambling policy in (i) 2018, (ii) 2019 and (iii) 2020.

Carolyn Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how many times he has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Justice on (a) gambling policy and (b) money laundering associated with gambling in (i) 2018, (ii) 2019 and (iii) 2020.

Nigel Huddleston: The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) works closely with the Department of Health and Social Care, HM Treasury, and wider government on matters related to gambling policy. Since 2018, DCMS officials have met regularly with their counterparts across government to discuss a wide range of gambling-related issues.Details of ministerial meetings are publicly available. They are published quarterly on the government’s website at: https://www.gov.uk/search/transparency-and-freedom-of-information-releases?content_store_document_type=transparency&organisations%5B%5D=department-for-digital-culture-media-sport.

Sports: Coronavirus

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what support his Department is providing to spectator sports during the covid-19 outbreak.

Nigel Huddleston: The Government has been working closely with sport governing bodies and clubs across the country to fully assess what support is needed, as a result of the restrictions many sports have faced around the return of fans.As a result of this work, on 19 November 2020 we announced a £300 million Sports Winter Survival Package to protect their immediate futures over the winter period.These interventions were on top of the multi-billion pound package of business support from the Treasury that has enabled many sports clubs and leisure businesses to survive, including the furlough scheme and business interruption loan scheme. Sports have accessed many hundreds of millions of pounds of support through this.We have also now enabled the return of fans to sports events in tiers one and two, which will provide a vital boost to the sector on the road to recovery.

Ericsson: 5G

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions his Department has had with Ericsson on production capacity in the UK for the roll-out of 5G.

Matt Warman: DCMS, as the lead department for digital infrastructure, has regular discussions with Ericsson about many aspects of 5G roll out.

Nokia: 5G

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions his Department has had with Nokia on production capacity in the UK for the roll-out of 5G.

Matt Warman: DCMS, as the lead department for digital infrastructure, has regular discussions with Ericsson about many aspects of 5G roll out.